Daily reflection:

On January 20th, I started my training period at the University Health Center as a public health intern. I received a list of deliverables and a weekly breakdown of what will be expected of me for my internship at the University Health Center. The training was short and will be continued on January 21st. I also received great news: I will have the opportunity to collaborate with the Department of Public Health to host an event to provide students with more information on sexual health, specifically HIV prevention.  I decided to start my research for my literature review today, compiling documents on PrEP to help me finalize my assessment plan and survey approach. These documents will contain information on how often students aged 18-25 take PrEP, which demographics take PrEP now and whether these differ from expected demographics, and what stigma is associated with PrEP use. 

On January 21st, I received my UHC computer and started looking into some research about PrEP. I was able to get five peer-reviewed articles, and as I was doing my research, I was able to start writing down some questions to add to my anonymous survey. I will compose my survey tomorrow and finalize it after I meet with the Pride Center on Monday. As someone who doesn’t know much about PrEP, this research has been very intriguing, and I am excited to start my hands-on learning experience.

On January 26th, I worked from home on my literature review, compiling documents and creating a workable outline for my paper.

On January 27th, I worked from home again due to the snow days and was able to fully structure my paper. I plan to develop my anonymous survey tomorrow using survey questions curated from the research I conducted for my literature review.

On January 30th, I joined a Zoom meeting with the Department of Public Health, the Fontaine Center, and Amelia to discuss a potential collaboration event on campus to engage the student population on PrEP resources and to distribute knowledge on what services the DPH offers in Athens- Clarke County. This Zoom meeting was very informative, as I learned more about the services offered by the DPH and the work that they do to ensure the safety of individuals who see them for care. After this meeting, I worked with the sexual health coordinator at the Fontaine Center to schedule dates for a collaboration event. this semester.

Summary of week 1 matched with competencies:

Weekly Report:

From January 20th to 30th, I began my training at the University Health Center and reviewed my internship deliverables and expectations. I initiated my literature review on PrEP, gathering peer-reviewed articles to guide my assessment plan and develop an anonymous survey focused on PrEP awareness, usage, demographics, and stigma among students ages 18–25. I structured and outlined my research paper while drafting survey questions informed by the literature. Additionally, I participated in a collaborative Zoom meeting with the Department of Public Health, the Fontaine Center, and my preceptor to discuss a campus event focused on PrEP education and available services in Athens-Clarke County, and I worked with the sexual health coordinator to begin scheduling the event for the semester.

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Today is Monday, February 2nd, and I went to the Pride Center, and I met with the director to discuss what this specific community needs from me. We discussed upcoming events they will host for the semester and the barriers they have observed. Unfortunately, I left early because they had a scheduled staff meeting, but I left with the knowledge of how to proceed. I will now start my Qualtrics survey with new questions to ask and a better understanding of some of the general population’s needs.

On February 3rd, I worked on creating my questions for the PrEP survey and received training on the UHC Point and Click platform. The Point and Click platform will help me better access the population of students who have utilized PrEP counseling resources at the UHC and address any barriers to receiving care.

February 4th:

On February 5th, I added some helpful links to my survey. These links include information on the various clinics at the health center, the department of public health, and the Fontaine Center.

Summary matched with competencies:

Weekly update

February 3rd-February 5th: I worked on creating my questions for the PrEP survey and received training on the UHC Point and Click platform. The point-and-click platform will help me better access the population utilizing PrEP resources at the health center and address any barriers to receiving care.

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On February 9th, I finished my survey and transferred it from Qualtrics to the other platform that UGA uses to send surveys to the general population. This platform was easier to use, and I hope it will be easier to navigate for the population assessed.

On February 10th, I continued to refine my survey questions, taking the survey different times to make sure all of the logic pathways worked and led to the questions that I wanted them to. The survey was then sent to Amelia to send out and test. She took the survey multiple times as well and then sent it for review.

On February 11th, I officially finished my survey, and I am waiting for it to be reviewed. The survey consists of 15 questions. The survey starts with asking individuals if they consent to taking the survey and allows them to opt out. It then collects information on sexual identity and gender orientation, and then it goes into asking about sexual preferences. These questions then lead to asking about PrEP knowledge and uptake.

On February 12th, I had the opportunity to join Amelia in a meeting with several staff members about the quality of care that the health center provides and how the health center could better train employees to provide adequate care to students. This meeting was not only enlightening but also informative. I was able to speak on behalf of the students and give a student’s point of view on various subject matters.

Weekly summary and competencies:

Weekly update

During the week of February 9th–12th, I finalized and refined my PrEP awareness survey by transferring it to UGA’s official survey platform, testing all logic pathways multiple times to ensure proper functionality, and collaborating with Amelia for additional review and testing. The 15-question survey includes informed consent, demographic questions on sexual identity and gender orientation, and items assessing sexual behaviors, PrEP knowledge, and uptake. In addition to completing the survey, I participated in a health center staff meeting focused on improving quality of care and employee training, where I contributed a student perspective to discussions about enhancing services for the campus community. This meeting was not only enlightening but also informative. I was able to speak on behalf of the students and give a student’s point of view on various subject matters.

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On February 16th, I went to the Pride Center again but received the same information: there wasn’t a direct assignment for me, and they are waiting for the survey questions from my internship preceptor.

On February 17th, I revisited my literature review and cleaned up any grammatical errors and expanded on topics that I believed needed to be explained in depth.

On February 18th, I sent my internship preceptor my survey as a PDF for her to send the finalized version to colleagues for review and any comments or critiques they may have. We also discussed placing the survey in the gynecology clinic to diversify our population of those who will be taking the survey once it is officially sent out.

After the survey was sent to a few colleagues, I received some helpful change suggestions, such as adding a gender orientation, making questions more concise, and making them easier to follow. Now that I have received the critiques needed, I am waiting for final approval to send out the survey.

On February 19th, I made all of the changes that were suggested and resent the survey to my internship preceptor.

Weekly summary and competencies:

During the week of February 16th–19th, I continued coordinating with the Pride Center while awaiting finalized survey approval from my preceptor. I refined and expanded my literature review, then submitted my survey for professional review and feedback. After receiving critiques from colleagues, I revised the survey to improve clarity, inclusivity, and flow, such as adding gender orientation options and simplifying question wording. We also discussed expanding distribution to the gynecology clinic to diversify the survey population. I made all recommended revisions and resubmitted the survey for final approval before dissemination.

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On February 23rd, I worked on my myth-busting campaign. I created a list of facts vs. myths for PrEP uptake. I want the theme of this campaign to be relevant and relatable, so I am leaning towards a tea-time concept where we clock that tea (myths). With facts. I sent the list of names and the Canva mockup to the communications team, and I am awaiting approval.

On February 24th, as I am awaiting approval for my myth-busting campaign and the survey, I redid my daily reflections and added my competencies. I also added the Gaypril kickoff event to my schedule as I will be in attendance.

On February 25th, I was informed that my myth-busting campaign would be redesigned to use CDC-premade materials from their Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign. I reached out to the CDC for collaboration materials and access to their toolkit to choose what materials will be distributed throughout the health center. I also added the finishing touches to my survey, again refining anything that was missed before, so when it is time to distribute it, it is ready to go. I talked with my internship preceptor about when it would be distributed, and she is still awaiting approval, but assured me that the survey will still be published.

I emailed the Department of Public Health to follow up on a collaboration event for April. I suggested that we hold the collaboration event after the Gaypril kickoff to ride the momentum of the kickoff before the end-of-semester “crunch” begins and students start heading off-campus.

On February 26th, I received a response to my follow-up email from the DPH with dates to discuss our collaboration event. I also still await an email from the CDC regarding the collaboration for their HIV materials, but I was able to learn how to reach out to partners and ask for information, something I never thought I would be doing.

Weekly summary/competencies:

During the week of February 23rd–26th, I focused on developing and refining my PrEP myth-busting campaign to increase awareness and reduce stigma among students. I created a facts-versus-myths concept and drafted campaign materials before collaborating with the communications team for review. After learning the campaign would shift to using CDC-developed materials, I proactively reached out to request toolkit resources and explored evidence-based messaging options for distribution throughout the health center. In addition, I finalized edits to my survey while awaiting approval for dissemination. I followed up with the Department of Public Health to finalize coordination for a collaborative event, strategically proposing timing to align with Gaypril programming and maximize student engagement.

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On March 2nd, I went to the Pride Center to discuss the questions for my survey with the head coordinator, but unfortunately, he was out of the office and staff were unsure if he would be coming in for the day. Because of this, I had to pivot and work on finding CDC resources for my campaign. I also set a meeting with the DPH for our discussion about when to conduct our collaboration event. We settled on meeting on Thursday, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, to talk about programming.

On March 3rd, I went to the Bear meet-up event, which was not directly tied to my internship, but the event focused on building connections and fostering healthy bonds, and I believe mentioning this event is important because it was an event that I helped plan with the Fontaine Center. After the event, I went into the office to find premade PrEP resources on the CDC website as I wait to hear back from them. Since I have not received an email regarding their toolkit, I was only able to take 2 resources off of their main page that I believed were inclusive. I was also able to collaborate with other interns while in the office. My internship preceptor offered me other government websites to look through for different programming.

On March 4th, I was also able to collaborate with other interns while in the office. I learned about their internship projects as well as some new things happening in the public health world. I was also able to use this day to catch up on my day-to-day reports and clean up my journal entries.

On March 5th, I met with the DPH on Microsoft Teams, and we discussed tabling efforts to engage with the population at UGA during the Gaypril kickoff event. I brought up using the wheel that the Fontaine Center has, to incorporate a myth vs facts game surrounding PrEP uptake. This idea went over well, and I shall start working on gathering facts during spring break. I also reached out to another partner at DPH regarding some materials that can be sent out to the uga population in hopes that they may have more inclusive messaging. Inclusive messaging will help get the point across that PrEP is not just for men who have sex with men, but it is for anyone who participates in seemingly risky sexual behaviors.

Weekly summary/competencies

During the week of March 2nd–5th, I focused on collaboration, program planning, and gathering educational resources for upcoming HIV prevention outreach efforts. I attempted to meet with the Pride Center to discuss survey questions, but pivoted to identifying CDC materials for my PrEP myth-busting campaign when the coordinator was unavailable. I also attended a community-building event I helped plan with the Fontaine Center, and then I continued researching inclusive PrEP resources while collaborating with other interns. Later in the week, I met with the Department of Public Health to discuss tabling at the Gaypril kickoff event, where I proposed an interactive myth-versus-fact wheel activity to engage students and promote accurate information about PrEP. I also began coordinating with additional partners to obtain inclusive educational materials to distribute to the UGA student population.

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On March 10th, I went into the office and worked on my trivia questions for the Gaypril tabling and the collaboration event. I am making this on Canva with the help of CDC resources on PrEP uptake and HIV awareness.